I'm in the same boat! Plateau started last week, but I was hoping it was only TOM. Apparently not because I weighed in today and am not down. They told us about the plateau, and I knew it was coming...but it's still discouraging. The MRC sold me some Iodine today, saying that if I have an underactive thyroid it could help bump me off the plateau. I'm already on B6 and liquid minerals to aid in releasing water retention. I can only hope this plateau won't last too long. My counselor told me it could take up to 2-3 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

Plateau's bite but they are a necessary evil! :devil:
Just keep plugging away, look for nonscale victories; clothes are looser, compliments, measurements. If it takes a while, have them run a BMI on the scale. Hang in there, this diet works and those fat cells can't hold out forever!

Try taking the b6 tablets and the liquid minerals. It helps to release the excess water that your body is holding on to.

Hi everyone, I just recently started this diet on Saturday, I did my preconditioning last week (been losing about a pound a day!) and I am on the beige sheet... From my original talk with my counselor she said my diet plan would be switching every week... At least that what was the impression I was under... And of course she is on vacation til next week so I can't really talk to her, but when I called the center the other day I asked when will my diet sheet be changing and they said it won't change till I hit 200lbs... I started the program at 237 and now I'm at 228.. Does that sound right to have the same diet sheet for so long? I'm 5'10 and my goal weight is 167... I'm not really confident about the other girls that work in my center... They don't seem to be that helpful.. Another problem I'm having with this diet is no starches at lunch.. I work at an insurance agency and its too far for me to go home everyday so it makes it hard for me to decide on lunch..this whole week has been pretty much tuna with onions and either pineapple or apple for my fruit... My other problem is with dinner... My husband is an active runner so he needs carbs a lot more than me..and its hard not to want some rice or pasta after I fix it for him... Any suggestions on something we both can eat and enjoy?

Welcome Michelle86,
I too started on the beige menu and will continue on this until I hit 200 which is right around the corner for me. It is normal that you stay with the same plan until you get under 200, 150 etc. so don't worry, the girls at the center are telling you the right thing. I don't know why you were told you would be switching plans weekly but I've never come across this in my experience and haven't heard anyone else mention it on the forum. I do know that occasionally if you hit a plateau and they want you to break it they may try other menus but that is individually based. As for lunches, I too live too far from work to go homef or lunches so I usually bring my protein (leftover grilled chkn, cottage cheese, cheese, boiled eggs etc) 4 oz of cooked veggie (broccoli, green beans) or 8 oz of salad with cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes and some sort of fruit. This takes the guess work out of eating out. If I ran out of time I will grab a salad from chik-fil-a (grilled chkn) or a gr. chkn salad from a local restaurant I kow and trust and use a light dressing, only a few tspns. This usually works out well. As for dinner, I have a hubby and daughter that expect a carb every night w/their meal. I typically make rice, potatoes, pasta - just enough for them w/o leftovers so I am not tempted - and have my bread or melba toast and am happy. It takes a week or so to get past the carb cravings but once you do if you stick to it you can live w/o it. I sometimes will toast my bread and spray w/ICBINB and dust with garlic salt (ok so It should be just the powder but a dash won't kill me) or I'll spray with pam butter spray lightly and cook on stovetop pan w/some garlic salt... feels like I'm having a yummy piece of garlic brd. Spaghetti squash is a nice way to fill in those days where you just want something else.. It is low carb/substitutes for you veggie.. can be used like pasta. Check out the recipe site and you'll find lots of great ideas there. Good luck on your new journey!

Going on weekend getaway...
 

Hey Everyone,
I am one day away from a weekend getaway in FL to celebrate my sister's b-day and spend time w/family. We're going to my Sister's Fri night for dinner/bday celebration... everyone in my family is pretty much on a "diet" or "eating right/healthy" so that will be easy enough, they all cook very MRC friendly. On Sat we're heading to Seaworld in Orlando and will stay the night and go to Aquatica on Sunday then head home Sun Eve. It will be a fun weekend, exhausting I'm sure but fun. I'm trying to prepare food/snacks so I will stick to plan. I have taken 5 - 16 oz bottled waters and emptied enough water to pour in 2 HNS each, no excuses... I will drink my HNS while on vacation, LOL... I've boiled eggs and will portion out some cheese and cucumbers when I can't get to a healthier option. The plan is to keep them in a cooler in the car and if all else fails, go eat my lunch out there. Otherwise I'm going to hope for the best and look for grilled options :0) I was really hoping to be under 200 and into "Onderland" before the trip but I'm still happy w/my progress. I can remember when I was 230 and really just wanted to be under 200. My focus has changed, I am so happy to be almost there and feel this calm confidence that I will move past this pretty quickly. My new focus is to be less than 155... I've got grand prize in my line of vision and I am on my way!! Keep up the great work everyone and remember, this plan works if you keep workin it!! Your hard work will be rewarded and you will have what you want if you just keep on keepin on :)

Thanks Karen for the advice! A lot of it will be real helpful for me... The garlic bread sounds good... So far my week consisted of breakfast - 1 egg on sara lee 45 calorie wheat bread (really good), lunch has been tuna with onions and either pineapple or apple as my fruit, and dinner has been mostly chicken and some vegetable...lol I'm pretty picky when it comes to food sometimes so this diet has been kind of hard for me.. Its just me and my husband so its kind of a pain to fix him a good meal and then I'm eating my healthy food and wishing I was able to eat what he was eating..lol I'm sure in time it will pass, just getting past this part has been rough so far.. I did try the chicken ceasar salad from wendys but didnt use their dressing, i used the italian spritzer spray dressing on it and it was pretty good... Just kind of getting tired of the italian dressing..might have to try something else... But anyways thanks for your advice :) Glad I found this forum, I can see its going to help me out big time through this journey!

Hi Michelle and welcome!
Lots of us have families we cook for as well as our own meals so we feel your pain! I have teenage boys so I try to make an MRC entree and then add on a starch for them. They really like the honey mustard crusted chicken from the cookbook. Of course with kids it is easier. I buy the food, I cook it, they don't have a choice. Well, I do let them choose foods that they like for some meals but am weaning them away from the pizza/hot dogs/ramen noodles. Healthy habits have to start somewhere as well as bad ones!
Just a question for you. You have only one egg on toast for Breakfast? I thought you should have more protein then that on beige menu. On green, I have either 2 eggs or one egg and 1 oz cheese on my toast.

Well the only reason why I was doing one egg was because on the beige menu it said medium egg and all my grocery store had at the time were large and extra large eggs... so I was trying to compensate for having a medium egg...

Sorry for double posting but I have another quick question....anyone think those egg beaters (that come in the carton) would be good for the plan? The have regular eggs and they have egg whites (so you dont have to try to separate the yolk when cooking it)... I'm going to my center tomorrow and was going to ask them about it, but everything I ask them about is always a big No...They don't give me a reason why they just say its a big no on their book....

Michelle96 - do not short yourself on the 'good' stuff or you may find yourself succumbing to the 'bad' stuff later in the day. Here is a comparison of the nutritional values of the different size eggs. Even a jumbo is not equivalent to two mediums. I try to buy eggs higher in Omega 3 and have not been able to find them in medium so I buy the large and try not to be too diligent in scraping out the bottom of the pan or eating every last crumb. I think you need the protein of two eggs (or as Lori123321 suggested, adding cheese if it is allowed on your menu sheet) to be equivalent to two eggs.

1 small 54 cal Protein 4.7g Fat 3.7g Chol 157mg
1 medium 65 cal Protein 5.5g Fat 4.4g Chol 186mg
1 large 74 cal Protein 6.3g Fat 5.0g Chol 212mg
1 extra large 85 cal Protein 7.3g Fat 5.7g Chol 245mg
1 jumbo 96 cal Protein 8.2g Fat 6.4g Chol 275mg

I'm glad you found this forum - it is wonderful to have such a large and supportive community. jeanette

Michelle
I have been fighting with making this family friendly too....my kids are doing better but here are some ideas that my kids really loved.

Meatloaf made with buffalo. I made mine to size with no tomato topping as I don't like the tomato sup. They get potatoes with it, not me. It is really good tho!!!!

Chicken Enchilladas.....shredded chicken, salsa verde 1c. remove enough meat for you to add to your "deconstructed enchillada" and finish making the rest for the family. Add your meat to lettuce and veg. Bake the tortilla in the oven to make it a "chip" if you like.

Cheeseburger soup.....my kids love this. I take out my serving and add a bit more cheese for them.

Spaghetti and Meatballs....they get the real deal with turkey meatballs. Mine is on Spaghetti squash with crushed seasoned tomatoes after it is plated. Very good.

Pizza Night.....they get pizza and I use a slice of bread, spread a thin layer of cottage cheese, sprinkle with basil, add chicken cut into strips, sprinkle with a bit of Moz for effect. Toast in toaster oven or oven for about 10-15 min. When it comes out add a slice or two of tomatoes that have been seasoned with basil and pepper. Eat with a side salad. You can't do this often because you are only supposed to mix groups 1 and 3 two times a week.

Burgers are easy....Just make yours from turkey or buffalo. Have you tried adding a little dried Ranch dressing mix? Yum

When I first saw just make your meat and veggies and add a protein for the rest.....it was scarey. I thought....there is no way my kids and husband will go for that. I thought I had to make boring seasoned meat each night and you don't! Take out your recipes. A lot are very easily modified to work with this program.

Hey Michelle,
I have used large eggs the entire time. I also have used the Egg Beaters egg whites when I discovered them in the store about 5 months ago. I mix them with my morning HNS and shake them up and drink them; in fact that is my go to breakfast 6 days a week. When my center's manager asked about them, she said we really shouldn't used anything processed because 'they' always add things in. Well there is nothing on that label--no extra sodium, and I don't know what the food science is about pasturization, but I have happy with my weight loss average. They are cheap and convenient and I don't have to waste all the egg yolks.

I went to wi today.....not as good as I wanted it to be but I am at 189.5 so I do get to say good bye to the 190s!

bye for 10 days
 

I'm heading to sunny FL in a couple of days, so wish me luck in making good choices while I'm gone. To kick things off we have a family celebration tonight at Pappaudeaux's, not my choice or my dime, but it will be a nice evening. I haven't looked at their menu, but I think they should have things to make good choices from.

After wi today, it's official. I'm on the bottom half of my total weight loss goal. Close to saying goodbye to the 190's like Jewelie, congrats to you. It has been pretty slow this last month, so I'm hoping something will give soon and the scale will move a little quicker.

Just found out family portraits are scheduled for Sept 20, so I better work hard between now and then.

Kristalin - good luck tomorrow with your game! Sounds like fun.

Here's :hug: to everyone and I look forward to seeing your great successes when I return. (Just not looking forward to how much time it will take to catch up on reading all the posts.)